On October 12, 2026, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a law expanding the rights of national minorities and indigenous peoples to education in their native languages. The document No. 16119 was voted for by 266 deputies, and President Volodymyr Zelensky signed it on the same day. The law received the number 5008-IX. For the Hungarian and Romanian communities, these are new guarantees in the operation of national schools. For Israel, the news is also interesting for another reason: it concerns a country where Jewish educational institutions have long existed, Hebrew is studied, and two peoples with historical ties to Judaism — the Krymchaks and Karaites — are officially recognized as indigenous peoples of Ukraine.
Author: Pavel Shveiko
It is important to understand several different legal regimes here. Hungarian and Romanian are among the official languages of the European Union.
Hebrew and Yiddish are not, but Ukraine has already included them in the list of languages protected by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
Krymchak and Karaim are also protected by this Charter, and their speakers have separate rights as representatives of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine.
Therefore, to say that the new law automatically opens Hebrew-language public schools would be incorrect. But to consider that it has no relation to the Jewish heritage of Ukraine means missing a significant part of history.
What the Verkhovna Rada adopted: not the construction of new schools, but new rules
The document with the official title “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Provision of Educational Rights of Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine and Persons Belonging to National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine” clarifies the use of minority languages in the educational process, provides for a special status of national schools, and additional guarantees during their reorganization.
Ukrainian remains the state language of education. At the same time, the possibility of using the language of the respective minority is expanded not only directly in lessons but also in communication between the administration, teachers, students, and parents. Schools will be able to include materials on national history, culture, traditions, and customs in their educational programs, as well as use national symbols in cases provided by law.
A separate innovation is the status of an educational institution of a national minority. A school where more than half of the students are taught in the language of the respective community, which is an official language of the EU, will be able to obtain this status. According to the Ministry of Education of Ukraine, potentially 149 schools, about 1.2% of all general educational institutions in the country, fall under this definition.
The obtained status can be maintained as long as the share of students receiving education in the respective language is at least 20%.
If it falls below this level, a procedure for terminating the status with the participation of the Ministry of Education is provided. When closing or reorganizing a communal national school, the founder must ensure that students can continue the respective education within the same territorial community. Changes potentially affect up to 141 communal schools in the Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi, Odesa, and Lviv regions.
It is also envisaged to duplicate school signs, official documents, and educational documents in the minority language — in established cases and under appropriate conditions. National history and culture will be able to occupy a more prominent place in school life. Additional opportunities are provided for students to receive translated exam tasks, including within the framework of external assessment.
Parents, meanwhile, retain the opportunity to seek the expansion of teaching in the Ukrainian language.
If parents of at least two-thirds of the students in a class or group formally request an increase in the number of such subjects, the school can make the corresponding decision. This allows for considering the interests of families who want to simultaneously preserve the child’s native language and prepare them for further education in Ukraine.
There is also a special administrative norm. Current heads of some private schools with instruction in minority or indigenous languages will be allowed to continue working without a separate state certificate of proficiency in the Ukrainian language. The obligation to know and use the state language remains. According to the ministry’s assessment, the exception concerns the heads of 29 educational institutions.
Hungarian and Romanian schools are part of the larger history of Ukraine’s relations with Europe
The main changes affect schools with Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, Slovak, Bulgarian, German, and other languages of national communities, which are simultaneously official languages of the EU. Such educational institutions already operate in Ukraine, so the new law primarily consolidates additional guarantees for their activities.
Special attention to Hungarian schools is explained not only by educational issues. In Zakarpattia, in western Ukraine near the border with Hungary, there is a historical Hungarian community. For several years, Budapest expressed claims to Ukrainian language legislation, and disagreements affected negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.
After the change of the Hungarian government, negotiations received new development. On June 3, 2026, Kyiv and Budapest reached agreements on the rights of the Hungarian minority, and on October 12, Foreign Ministers Andriy Sybiha and Anita Orban met in Luxembourg. The Hungarian side welcomed the adoption of the law. Kyiv hopes that this will help open the next groups of negotiation chapters on EU accession, known as negotiation clusters. Progress on the second and third clusters was expected on October 13, but the parliamentary vote itself did not automatically mean their opening.
Thus, the language reform has not only internal but also diplomatic significance. The conditions for children’s education have become part of a broader conversation about Ukraine’s obligations to European partners.
Jewish schools in Ukraine already exist. Hebrew has been studied there for decades
For the Israeli reader, a natural question arises here: what is happening with Jewish schools in Ukraine? After all, it is not about creating education from scratch. In Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro, and other cities, Jewish schools and educational programs existed long before the vote on October 12.
One of the most well-known examples is Kyiv Lyceum No. 299, historically known as the Jewish Gymnasium “Orach Chaim.” The educational institution was opened in 1990 with the support of educational structures and Jewish organizations. The Jewish Confederation of Ukraine calls it one of the first state schools with the study of the Jewish language after World War II. According to the lyceum itself, Hebrew is studied from the first to the twelfth grade, and Jewish literature and the history of the Jewish people are included in the program from the eighth grade.
Another example is Kyiv School No. 325 “Happiness,” associated with educational projects of the Jewish community. This is a communal educational institution with an in-depth study of Hebrew. At the same time, in official educational data, the language of instruction is indicated as Ukrainian. This model allows a child to receive education according to the Ukrainian state program while simultaneously studying the language and cultural heritage of their people.
In Odesa, there is a private lyceum “Chabad — Or Avner.” Here, Hebrew, Jewish history, and traditions are taught. In the 2025/2026 academic year, the school offered in-depth study of English and Hebrew, as well as additional educational directions. In October 2025, the community reported on the “Bat Melech” program, within which female students additionally studied Hebrew and Judaism according to programs used in Israel. It was assumed that such knowledge would help them later adapt more easily to the Israeli education system.
In Dnipro, the Jewish school “Or Avner” named after Levi Yitzchak Schneerson has been operating since 1991, when Jewish classes were organized in city school No. 58. Its educational tradition includes in-depth study of Hebrew, the history of the Jewish people, and Jewish customs.
This educational network also has a heavy military context. In June 2026, NANews reported on a publication by Israel Hayom after a Russian strike on Jewish educational and social infrastructure facilities in Odesa, associated with the “Or Avner Chabad” complex and the “Mishpacha Ukraine” children’s home. Therefore, the conversation about preserving schools today concerns not only school programs but also the safety of children, the restoration of buildings, and the ability of communities to continue their work during the war.
However, studying Hebrew as a subject and teaching mathematics, geography, or natural sciences in Hebrew are legally different things. Within community and religious programs, classes directly in Hebrew may exist, but this in itself does not mean that the entire educational institution has the official status of a school with Hebrew as the main language of instruction.
Why Hebrew is not included in the same category as Hungarian
Hebrew is the state language of Israel, but not an official language of the European Union. Therefore, the special regime provided by law No. 5008-IX for schools of national minorities, whose languages are official languages of the EU, does not automatically apply to Jewish schools just because Hebrew is taught there.
This, however, does not mean the absence of language rights. Ukrainian legislation already provides for the study of languages of national minorities, and in December 2025, the Verkhovna Rada adopted another important document for the Jewish community — law No. 4699-IX. The president signed it on June 12, 2026.
This law updated the list of languages to which Ukraine applies the provisions of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. It includes Hebrew, Yiddish, Karaim, and Krymchak. In total, the list covers 18 languages, including Crimean Tatar, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Gagauz, German, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Czech, Romani, Modern Greek, Rumeic, and Urum.
The Council of Europe’s Charter is an international treaty on the preservation of historically existing languages and support for their use in education, culture, public life, and other areas. It is not identical to the EU rules on the status of national schools and does not in itself turn Hebrew into the official language of school education throughout the country.
Back in November 2025, NANews thoroughly examined the bill on the protection of Hebrew and Yiddish when it was being considered by parliamentary committees. After the adoption of the law and the president’s signing, these changes became part of the current legal regulation.
For the Jewish community, this is significant. Hebrew maintains a connection with modern Israel and Jewish religious tradition, while Yiddish is the historical language of a significant part of Jews in Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine. Their legal protection concerns the preservation of cultural heritage, not just the school schedule.
And here arises another topic that is almost unnoticed in ordinary reports on educational reform.
Krymchaks and Karaites: two indigenous peoples of Ukraine with Jewish history
The law of October 12 speaks not only about national minorities but also about indigenous peoples of Ukraine. This is a separate legal category. Law No. 1616-IX of July 1, 2021, refers to the indigenous peoples formed on the Crimean Peninsula, the Crimean Tatars, Karaites, and Krymchaks.
For the Israeli audience, the last two names require explanation.
Krymchaks are a historical Jewish community of Crimea, traditionally practicing Rabbinic Judaism, recognizing the Talmud, and preserving their own ethno-cultural tradition. Their language belongs to the Turkic languages and historically formed in close interaction with the Crimean Tatar linguistic environment. It contains elements of Hebrew and Aramaic, but it is an independent historical language, not a variety of modern Hebrew.
The fate of the Krymchaks during the Holocaust was catastrophic. According to the YIVO Jewish Encyclopedia, of the approximately 6,500 Krymchaks living before the war, the Nazis exterminated at least 5,500. Mass shootings occurred, including in Karasubazar and the outskirts of Simferopol in November-December 1941. The memory of the destroyed communities became one of the most important elements of Krymchak identity. NANews has already written about the Day of Remembrance of the Krymchaks and Jews of Crimea on December 11.
The history of the Karaites is more complex. Karaite Judaism formed as a religious movement recognizing the authority of the Jewish Scriptures, the Tanakh, but not accepting the obligatory nature of the Rabbinic oral tradition, including the Talmud. Crimean Karaites lived on the peninsula for centuries, spoke a Turkic language, and preserved their own customs. In the 19th-20th centuries, a separate ethnic identity developed among them, so today some Crimean Karaites do not consider themselves Jews in the ethnic sense. Their historical connection with Judaism, however, is well documented.
Ukrainian legislation recognizes both Krymchaks and Karaites as independent indigenous peoples, regardless of disputes about historical origin and self-identification. This status is significant for providing them with additional guarantees for preserving their native language, culture, and education. Moreover, recognition as an indigenous people does not require that their language be an official language of the EU.
However, this status cannot be automatically transferred to all Jews of Ukraine. Krymchak and Karaim languages differ from Hebrew and Yiddish. The right of a separate indigenous people to education in their language does not automatically turn into the right of any Jewish school to receive a similar status.
It is especially noteworthy that this topic has already become the subject of Ukrainian-Israeli cultural cooperation. On July 17, 2026, in Tel Aviv, at ANU — Museum of the Jewish People, a conference dedicated to the Krymchaks as an indigenous people of Ukraine and the Jewish community of Crimea was planned. The ANU venue, known to many Israelis as a museum of Jewish history and the modern Jewish world, shows how closely this part of Ukrainian heritage is connected with the history of the Jewish people.
In previously published materials, NANews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency has already drawn attention to the fate of Krymchaks, Karaites, and Jewish communities after the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. Now this story has acquired a new educational dimension. Ukraine legally enshrines the possibility of preserving the languages of indigenous peoples, although the practical implementation of such rights in occupied Crimea remains extremely difficult.
Why the Russian language does not receive the same guarantees
The new law makes a fundamental distinction. Additional educational guarantees apply to the languages of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine and the languages of national minorities that are official languages of the EU. The Russian language does not belong to them.
This is a continuation of changes adopted earlier. Law No. 4699-IX excluded the Russian language from the list of languages to which Ukraine applies a special support regime under the European Charter. At the same time, the law does not prohibit private communication in Russian and does not cancel the existence of Russian-speaking citizens of the country. NANews examined the details of this decision in a separate material.
For Kyiv, such a distinction has become part of the state language policy in the context of the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine. The government emphasizes the need to support the languages of historical communities while maintaining Ukrainian as the common language of education and public life in the country.
Why there were still disputes around the law
The vote on October 12 was not entirely undisputed. In the first reading, the project was supported by 273 deputies, and upon final adoption — 266. Another 263 deputies voted for its urgent signing by the chairman of the parliament and submission to the president. The bill was adopted immediately as a whole, without the usual lengthy passage through several readings.
Deputy Heorhiy Mazurashu presented an alternative project No. 16119-1 and referred to the concerns of representatives of the Romanian community. According to him, some schools where 20% to 50% of students are taught in the minority language might need an additional transition period. He proposed giving such institutions six months for adaptation and warned of possible complications in relations with Romania. The parliamentary committee recommended rejecting the alternative document.
People’s Deputy Natalia Pipa raised another issue: how well graduates of certain national schools know the Ukrainian language. She cited her own experience visiting schools in Zakarpattia and expressed concerns that insufficient knowledge of the state language could hinder the integration of young people into Ukrainian society. Other participants in the discussion insisted on maintaining guarantees for the development of the Ukrainian language and equal opportunities for graduates to continue their education.
This discussion has a very practical meaning. A graduate of a Hungarian or Romanian school should be able to preserve their native language but also freely study, work, and participate in the life of Ukraine. The law attempts to combine both tasks, although the results will depend on school programs and their implementation.
What will happen next — and why it is worth following in Israel
The adopted law comes into force the day after its official publication. The Cabinet of Ministers is given six months to bring the necessary regulatory acts in line with it. Therefore, it should not be expected that all schools will immediately change programs, names, or the language of instruction.
In the near future, changes will be most noticeable where national classes with Hungarian, Romanian, and other EU languages already exist. Schools will have to resolve issues of special status, documents, interaction with parents, and the organization of the educational process. For indigenous peoples, practical provision of the language rights provided by law, including the preparation of teachers, educational materials, and conditions for learning, will be important.
For Jewish education, the situation is somewhat different. Existing schools in Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro, and other cities will continue to operate within the framework of Ukrainian legislation and their own educational programs. The study of Hebrew and Jewish history has an independent legal basis, and the status of the language in the European Charter enhances the importance of its preservation. However, the issue of the possible expansion of teaching general education subjects in Hebrew requires a separate analysis of existing norms, programs, and permissions of specific schools.
And finally, there is Crimea. Krymchaks and Karaites are very small peoples whose languages and historical memory need special support. Legal recognition of these rights does not automatically restore the lost cultural space, especially under Russian occupation. But it defines the obligations of the Ukrainian state for the future.
For Israel, the significance of this story goes beyond the usual discussion of Ukrainian-Hungarian relations. Hebrew has been studied in Ukrainian schools for decades. Ukraine recognized Krymchaks and Karaites as indigenous peoples and included four languages associated with Jewish history in the system of international language protection. Now the new educational law complements this legal system.
It remains to be seen how the provisions of the laws will work in school classrooms, in teacher training, and in the lives of small communities. It is there that it will become clear how much state guarantees help preserve languages that have been passed down from generation to generation and today risk disappearing along with their last speakers.